Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Muletua round trip, May 22 2009
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The last (and first) time I visited Muletua on Nerlandsøya, I was told by another hiker that it was possible to descend along the west ridge and - as I perceived it - to follow the shore back to the trailhead. I had been thinking about exploring this route for quite a while, and on this Friday afternoon, I decided to make the trip.
I called my friend Vidar, who grew up on Nerlandsøya, and asked if he wanted to come along. I certainly didn't expect him to say yes, with such a short notice on a Friday afternoon. But he actually did say yes, and the project was on.
We met at the Muletua trailhead and were on our way 6pm sharp. Vidar had also heard about a path, but that was it. There was no additional intel. The hike up Muletua only took 26 minutes, which included a quick stop by the shelter near the top. I like this shelter. In fact, I think many more mountain tops should have one. Then we descended the west ridge, following a vague path that soon disappeared..
Enjoying the scenery
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After some minor scrambling on the upper part of the west ridge, the route down presented itself. A steep, grassy (and slippery) mountainside that seemed to end with a nasty cliff, some meters above the shore. Moreover, the route along the shore seemed quite impossible. But we saw a couloir (Storemålgylet) that seemed to bring us back up the mountain. So if we just made it down to the shore, we could at least get a round trip. The scenery was just amazing, and the seagulls went nuts..
On level with the birds
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We then came across a convenient passage to the south side of the ridge, and soon we were almost at the bottom of the couloir. The couloir didn't seem difficult at all. Just steep. And 200 vertical meters long...
There was a low drystone wall on the south side of the couloir. What an incredibly odd place to spend time building a fence. It would certainly not hinder sheep to cross, and the actual purpose puzzled me.
Up the Storemålgylet couloir
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We topped out just a few meters below the summit shelter, which was higher than I thought we would end up. "Well, nothing could be better", I said to Vidar. "Bonus vertical meters!". Vidar gave me a look that indicated that he was not so hung up on vertical meters as I was. But he was glad he made the trip, which is the most important part..
